America x Reader: I'll Wait for You
by threepinkdoors
Summary: Just a short while before the Revolution, America has been getting sick and tired of dealing with England and the outrageous taxes.


**AN: This is in America's point of view**

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It was a pretty amazing day. I had just finished my work around the house and I decided to sneak off into the woods for an adventure. England didn't know I had gone, but that didn't matter. He wasn't there to tell me what I could and couldn't do.

I knew England would freak out if he ever found out I wasn't at home. So I always made sure the nanny didn't see me leave. Honestly, I don't understand why England had a nanny follow me around all the time. I was way too old for one; physically, I was seventeen! And I didn't want to bring anyone with me while I was out having fun. They'd just weigh me down. Every time I tried to climb a tree, they'd start screaming bloody murder, telling me to get down. I didn't want to get down. I wanted to move up, higher and higher, until I touched the sky.

I looked around the forest, looking for my favorite tree. It was very tall and had tons of bushy leaves that could easily conceal me, in case the nanny found out I was missing. It would give me enough time to make a break for the barn and give her the same old excuse.

I finally found my tree and started to climb it. It was pretty exhilarating, seeing the ground moving farther and farther away from me. Under this branch, over that bird's nest. The movements were so repetitive, I could have climbed the tree with my eyes shut. Suddenly I heard a giggle. I crouched down and sneaked up on a branch. I peeked through the thick leaves. Nothing. I frowned; maybe it was my imagination.

I heard it again.

I scrambled back to the trunk of the tree and pressed my body against it. Where was that coming from? My heart stopped in realization. I shot my head up. On a branch directly above me was a little girl, no older than ten, sitting down neatly as if she was enjoying tea and not fifty feet in the air. Her long (hair color) hair flowed in the soft breeze, and her (eye color) eyes sparkled in the sunlight. She was wearing her Sunday best. I chuckled to myself as I imagined how her mom would react if she found her climbing trees in her best dress. "Um, were you laughing at me?" I asked her.

The girl giggled. Yup, this was the culprit. "I was watching you." She slipped down between the branches. I realized she wasn't wearing any shoes. She crept onto my branch carefully, trying not to upset the balance with her weight. "My name is _. What's your name?"

I smiled at her. "Alfred," I answered. "My name is Alfred."

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Alfred."

I blushed. "Uh, actually, it's just 'Alfred', Sweetheart. I-I'm not married..."

She looked up in curiosity, her big eyes growing bigger. "I'm new in Boston, but I've seen you around sometimes. You're always with a girl. I thought that was your wife. I'm sorry."

My blush grew deeper. "Oh, uh, that's Ms. Victoria... Sh-she's not my... Well..." How was I supposed to tell her that was my nanny? I searched my brain, looking for words. "Ms. Victoria is m-my... cousin?" I could have slapped myself for such a lame answer.

The little girl nodded in understanding. "I like you. When I grow up, I want to marry you! So wait for me, okay?"

Her declaration came and went so fast. I only remember slipping from my perch and falling fifty feet onto the ground below.

*~*

"I can't believe you were so irresponsible! How could I possibly think you were mature enough to be here on your own!"

The little girl had gone for help. I guess she freaked out seeing me on the floor and my head bleeding something awful. England was here faster than I could say "I'm fine." And now, I was getting the lecture of a lifetime.

"If little _ wasn't around, you would be dead right now! Are you listening to me? Look at me when I'm talking to you, America!"

I chanced a glance up at England. I knew I was too old to get away with anything just by looking up at England through my eyelashes. It was getting tiring to have to always report to this rough man. He didn't used to be that way. It's as if he had found a puppy and fell in love with it, and when it grew to a dog, he neglected it. "What." The tone was sharper than I had intended, and it was more of an arrogant statement than a question.

The sharp sting of England's hand struck my face. My eyes shot wide; he had never struck me before. "I can't believe you can be so disrespectful. I raised you better!"

That's it. I was done. "No, _nannies_ raised me better!" I shouted. "The only thing you've been doing is leaving me alone with strangers and giving me impossible taxes! You never raised me; I'm just a set of income for you!"

Whatever I said, it worked. England shut up. But the face he was giving me, a mixture of sadness and loathing, broke my heart. "Fine. If that's how you see things, so be it." His voice was quiet, and there was a quiver, as if he was trying not to cry. He moved to the door and opened it, giving me one last look. "Tell your people that their taxes have now been doubled, thanks to your cheek." He shut the door, leaving me to my solitude.

*~*

"I can't take it anymore, Thomas!" I shouted, pacing back and forth on my friend's porch.

Thomas smiled at me. "I take it you didn't come here just to rant about England, Alfred?"

He knew me so well. "No. Actually..." I ran my fingers through my hair. "I want out. I don't want to be a colony anymore. And I was hoping you would help me."

Thomas smiled and stood from his place on a woven lawn chair and walked over to me. He placed a large on my shoulders, and it felt like a huge weight had been lifted from my being. "I can do more than help you, America. I'll talk to the others, and we'll do something about this. Don't you worry."

True to his word, Thomas (who wrote a very lengthy and beautifully constructed poem in response), told Benjamin, who told Adams, who told the rest of the crew to meet up in Congress. I couldn't resist, and while England slept in the bedroom next door, I jumped out the window and ran to meet up with the rest of the guys. At first, everyone was confused as to why a kid was amongst men. But Thomas backed me up, and I stayed to witness the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

When they were finished, Thomas handed me the page and a quill. "You're the only one left, Alfred." Everyone was staring. I took the quill in my hands and dipped it in the ink. With a trembling hand, the name "Alfred Fitzgerald Jones" appeared on the page.

"Believe me, dear Sir," Thomas spoke to the Congressmen. "There is not in the British Empire a man who more cordially loves a union with Great Britain that I do. But, by the God that made me, I will cease to exist before I yield to a connection on such terms as the British Parliament propose; and in this, I think I speak the sentiments in America." He placed a hand on my back as he said my name. The others seemed to understand who I was.

Tears filled my eyes. Everyone raised their glass and agreed to Thomas's statement. Someone understood what I felt. And for once in my life, I didn't feel alone.

*~*

"Alfred!"

I stopped and turned around to face the voice that called to me. A young woman stood before me, her Sunday best in tatters. "_?"

"You haven't changed a bit, Alfred!" She exclaimed.

I couldn't hold back a smile. "Well, look at you! You've grown in a few short years!" I felt a blush creep up on my face. She had certainly matured into a beautiful young lady.

"I'm celebrating my sixteenth birthday this weekend..." A sudden sadness came over her usual smiling face. I caught her looking at my clothing. A man's clothing. A soldier's clothing. "I assume you won't be there..."

"Jones! We're leaving!"

"Yes, General Washington!" I shouted at my commanding officer. I turned back to her and picked her face up. "Hey now, why are you crying?"

She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. "It's just... People die in wars, Alfred... I don't want you to die..."

I wrapped my arms around her and stroked her beautiful hair. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

She moved away from me and pulled a necklace from around her neck and placed it around mine. "You'll bring that back, right?"

I smiled and held her hands. "Of course!" My mouth went dry as she smiled again. "Do you remember when we met, you told asked me to wait for you?" Her face lit up bright red. "Promise me you'll wait for me. I will come back, for you. And I will marry you. So, wait for me, okay?"

Tears filled her eyes and she threw her arms around me. "I promise, Alfred," she whispered.

*~*

She had been caught in the middle of a skirmish. Three deadly shots landed on her chest. I was away in Saratoga, miles away from her. I couldn't save her. I held tears back as I placed the first daisies of Spring in her grave, her necklace around my neck.

"Alfred." I didn't move. A smaller hand was on my shoulder. "I'm leaving now." I didn't say anything. "Won't you say something to me?"

I looked away. There was so much I wanted to say. I wanted to cry for her, and for him. I wanted to apologize for all the pain I had caused him, and forgive him for all the pain he caused me. I wanted to yell at him for telling his soldiers to sack Boston, causing her death. But I wanted to beg him to stay. I was a melting pot of emotions. And so to save myself from saying the wrong things, I kept silent.

Maybe I was imagining it, but I could have sworn I saw him cry as he walked away. I figured he was laughing himself silly, because in his eyes I deserved to have the girl of my dreams taken from me. I only found out years later how wrong I was.

It's early September, 1783. I'm a new country. And I'm alone.


End file.
